Using Participatory Workshops to Integrate State-and-Transition Models Created With Local Knowledge and Ecological Data

TLDR: It is concluded that local knowledge and ecological data can complement one another, providing different types of information at different spatial and temporal scales to state-and-transition models.

About: This article is published in Rangeland Ecology & Management.The article was published on 2011-03-01 and is currently open access. It has received 74 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Knowledge integration & Descriptive knowledge.

Figures

Figure 2. Integrated state-and-transition model for the Claypan ecological site developed during the participatory workshop. This model combines information from two distinct models generated using local knowledge and ecological field data as well as feedback from workshop participants (ranchers, natural resource professionals, and other interested citizens).

Figure 1. Integrated state-and-transition model for the Mountain Loam ecological site developed during the participatory workshop. This model combines information from two distinct models generated using local knowledge and ecological field data as well as feedback from workshop participants (ranchers, natural resource professionals, and other interested citizens).

Table 1. Overlap between states in the landscape-level local knowledge (LK) and the ecological-site specific data-driven (DD) state-and-transition models (STMs).

Table 3. Transition descriptions for the Mountain Loam ecological site (Fig. 1).

Table 2. Transition factors identified in one or both of the state-and-transition models (STMs) created with local knowledge (LK) or with ecological field data (DD).

Frequently asked questions

Q1. What are the contributions mentioned in the paper "Using participatory workshops to integrate state-and-transition models created with local knowledge and ecological data" ?

The authors report on a series of participatory workshops where stakeholders helped to integrate STMs developed for the same region using local knowledge and ecological field data. With this exploratory project, the authors seek to understand what kinds of information local knowledge and ecological field data can provide to STMs, assess workshops as a method of integrating knowledge and evaluate how different stakeholders perceive models created with different types of knowledge. As STM development continues, it is critical that range professionals think systematically about what different forms of data might contribute to model development, how the authors can best integrate existing knowledge and data to create credible and useful models, and how to validate the resulting STMs. The authors conclude that local knowledge and ecological data can complement one another, providing different types of information at different spatial and temporal scales. Participants reported that the workshop increased their knowledge of STMs and vegetation dynamics, suggesting that engaging potential model users in developing STMs is an effective outreach and education approach.